COUNTRY CALENDAR. 21/04/2012

''There's healthy competition between the partners in Wairakaia Station, south of Gisborne, as each fights to make their strand of the business the most successful.

“The property has been in the Faulkner family for 100 years. It's currently run as a partnership between Rob and his wife Sandra and Rob's sister Jo and her husband Bruce. There is a sheep and beef operation, cropping and a citrus block.

“The partnership works because each person gets to run their own side of the business. “I'm in charge of anything with a wheel in each corner and Rob's in charge of anything with a leg in each corner,” says Bruce. Meanwhile Sandra knows that wool has to pay its way if it's to secure a corner of its own ...

“ “Like most fine wool growers, I thought strong wool was pretty ordinary, she says. But that's my industry here and I've come to appreciate it for what it is. It's still an extraordinary fibre.”

“Sandra says there can be warfare in their kitchen as she and Rob tussle over getting the best out of their sheep.” - TVNZ; tvnz.co.nz; 17/09/2012.